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PULPIT 


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. EDWIN HALLOCK BYINGTON 


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THE PILGRIM PRESS 


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BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 


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Copyright, igio 
By Luther H. Cary 



THE • PLIMPTON • PRESS 



NORWOOD • MASS • U • 8 • A 



(0:CI.A368034 



THIS LITTLE VOLUME 

IS DEDICATED TO THE CHILDREN OF MY 

HOME, TO MY DAUG 

RUTH, AND TO MY 

SON PAUL 



FOREJFORD 

THE messages of the Children's Pul- 
pit, presented originally to children 
in attendance at the Sunday morn- 
ing church service, already have received an 
unexpectedly warm welcome. From them 
a selection of fifty-two, one for each Sunday 
of the year, has been made for this little 
book. 

They are offered as "helps over hard 
places " for parents who sometimes find it 
difficult to make Sunday afternoons pleasant 
and profitable; for Sunday-school teachers 
who wish to have some little special feature 
before or after the lesson; for day-school 
teachers who are looking for concrete expres- 
sions of ethical principles; and for all whose 
responsibility for children calls for "line upon 



FOREWORD 

line, precept upon precept." They are merely 
suggestive, and easily can be amplified and 
illustrated. 

E. H. B. 



^•^•^■^^'^^■■^■^^■■^^■^^'•^•^•^^■•^'^ 


CONTENTS 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



PAGE 

The Finest Medicine in the World . . i 

The Glory of It 3 

Left Out 5 

The Boy Jesus 7 

The Lazy Man^s Lion 9 

The Little Preacher 11 

Cup or Sieve . 13 

The New Yearns Name 15 

Sir Galahad 17 

The Home Stretch 19 

Stopy Looky Listen . * 21 

Partners of Jesus 23 

The Willow 25 

Oh! Come On 27 

The Rambler Rose Family 29 

The Honor Flag 31 

The First-Fruits 33 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Praying Outdoors .../... 35 

Giving a Vacation 37 

A Drop of Dew 39 

The Bruised Reed . 41 

Being Contrary 43 

Sunlike 45 

Wise Doves 47 

Making Faces 49 

Walking with God 51 

The Cactus Blossom 53 

Tears ss 

Honey 57 

The Autumn Leaf 59 

Grandparents 61 

The Baldwin Apple Flavor .... 63 

November Rains 65 

For Another 67 

Table Manners 69 

Answering the Call 71 

The Relatives of Profanity 73 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Conquering the Darkness 75 

Snozvflake Feet 77 

Clean Hands 79 

Angels 81 

The Evening Star 83 

Little Burglars 85 

Lenten Lending 87 

Lincoln-like 89 

Self-punishment 91 

Palm Sunday Clothes 93 

Roll it Away 95 

Getting Breakfast 97 

The Soldier Boy 99 

The Snowdrop Spirit loi 

Your Birthday 103 



THE FINEST MEDICINE 
IN THE JFORLD 

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF 
medicine, some of which are taste- 
less, a few have a pleasant flavor, 
but most of them are very unpleasant to 
take. How you dislike most of them! But 
who of you likes to give medicine? "Not 
I," most of you answer. Wait a minute. 
There is one fine medicine, the finest in the 
world, and I like to have the boys and girls 
give me large doses of it. A very wise man 
tells about it in this proverb, "A merry 
heart doeth good like a medicine." 

You hear older people talk about psycho- 
therapy, homeopathy, allopathy, osteopathy, 
but never mind those. The thing for you to 
practise is " merryopathy." Have a merry 

[I] 



THE children's PULPIT 

heart, and let it show itself in sunny faces, 
sparkling eyes, sweet laughter, lightly trip- 
ping steps, and willing hands. 

Many men and women study four years in 
the high school, four in college, four in the 
medical school, and then spend two years in a 
hospital that they may be doctors, but get a 
merry heart within you and you can practise 
medicine right away. Sometimes when a 
troubled man meets a merry boy or girl he 
feels like taking off his hat and saying, "Good 
morning, doctor ! " — a " merryopathic " doctor. 
Begin the practise of this kind of medicine at 
once. In the morning say, "I will be a doc- 
tor to-day"; and at night ask your mother 
whether you have been her little doctor 
during the day. 



[2] 



THE GLORT OF IT 

A BOY NOT TEN YEARS OLD, AT 
a camp, swam in a test one day half 
a mile. He evidently was much 
pleased and also had been much praised, for 
he wrote this letter: "Dear Father: Yesterday 
I swam half a mile, but the glory is all yours, 
for you taught me how to swim." 

True enough, for when boys and girls do 
well they have some credit, but most goes to 
their fathers and mothers. And when they 
do wrong most of the blame is laid on the 
shoulders of their parents. 

Not long ago a young man was sent to 
prison, and the chief of police said of his 
wickedness, "Oh, he gets that from his 
mother." The blame of his wrong-doing, 
justly or unjustly, rested on her. 

[3] 



THE children's PULPIT 

Your public school-teachers may never 
have seen your parents, but they have an 
opinion of them based on your behavior. 
I heard a school-teacher say, "I do not 

know Mr. and Mrs. K personally, but 

they must be nice people, their boy is so 
bright and polite and their little girl so gentle 
and earnest." I have heard, in other cases, 
severe opinions expressed about parents, based 
on the bad behavior of their children. You 
all are weaving golden crowns or crowns of 
thorns for your fathers and mothers; you 
are bringing honor or blame upon them. 
Christ said, in his prayer to his heavenly 
Father, "I have glorified thee on the earth." 
So every boy and girl can bring glory to 
father and mother. 



[4] 



LEFT OUT 

VERY HARD IT MUST HAVE 
been for Mary and Joseph after 
their long journey to find that 
there was no room for them at Bethlehem's 
inn. How tired they were, and how cruel 
it seemed when they were turned back into 
the darkness! 

Then some kind-hearted person, perhaps 
the innkeeper himself, took the poor trav- 
elers who were left out in the cold and made 
a place for them in the stable. Gladly he 
must have filled the manger with the sweet, 
fresh hay until it made a fine resting-place, 
and how grateful Mary must have been! 
They were no longer "left out." 

It never is pleasant to be crowded out, 
and sometimes it hurts very much. Some 

[si 



THE children's PULPIT 

of US have felt so badly at being left out 
that we have cried over it, perhaps before 
others, perhaps at night after we have gone 
to bed. It may have been from a sleigh- 
ride party, or a social circle, or a chorus. When 
we thought that nobody wanted us, that 
there was no room for us, we felt miserable. 
Then, like the men of Bethlehem's stable, 
let us be kind to those who, at Christmas or 
other times, seem left out. When you find 
some who are not likely to receive presents, 
or invitations to a party, or friendly calls, 
think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the 
man who was kind to her and Joseph when 
they were left out, and do all you can to 
make them comfortable and happy. 



[6] 



THE BOr JESUS 

WE READ IN THE BIBLE THAT 
the boy Jesus advanced in wis- 
dom, and stature, and in favor 
with God and man. Every boy and girl 
wishes to be like him, and also enjoys know- 
ing that the resemblance is real. You wish 
to be sure of it and September is a good 
time to commence a satisfactory trial. Accord- 
ing to the business calendar the year begins 
on the first day of January, but for every 
one who is studying a new year opens on 
the first day of school in the fall. 

Take a piece of paper, write upon it the 
day of the month and the year. Have some 
one weigh you, and measure your exact 
height and write them, your "stature," on 
the paper. Then record how far you have 

[7] 



^ ^ ^ ^l^ ^ *^ ^ «0* <<^ <^ «^ Hl^ «^ «<^ ^ ■^ *^ ^ *^ ^ 

THE children's PULPIT 

gone in your studies, in day-school and Sun- 
day-school, which is your "wisdom." Think 
of any little careless or disagreeable habits 
you may have, and select one that other 
people do not like, so if you were rid of it 
you would increase "in favor with man." 
Write that down; and also some habit which 
you do not have, the forming of which you 
think would be pleasing to your heavenly 
Father. You would thus increase "in favor 
with God." 

Have this paper where you can read it 
now and then. Keep it carefully. At the 
end of a year be measured and weighed 
again, notice whether you have conquered 
that habit that was annoying to other people 
and formed the new one that would be 
pleasing to God. If the result is favorable, 
you may know certainly that you, like the 
boy Jesus, have increased in wisdom and in 
stature and in favor with God and man. 

[8] 



THE LAZr MAN'S LION 

IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS IS 
this verse, "The sluggard saith, There 
is a lion without: I shall be slain in the 
streets." This means that a lazy man did 
not wish to go to work and so pretended that 
there was a lion in the street, and offered as 
an excuse for not going to work that the lion 
in the street would kill him if he went out. 

It is a fact that every lazy boy and every 
indolent girl has a lion, that is, some excuse 
for not doing what is asked. A daughter 
is told to do her piano practising and ex- 
claims: "Oh, I can't! It is so cold in the 
parlor" — (lazy man's lion). A son is asked 
to run to the store on an errand and answers 
that his shoe hurts his foot when he walks — 
(lazy man's lion). On Sunday morning he 

[9] 



THE children's PULPIT 

cannot go to church because it is rainy — 
(lazy man's lion). He cannot study his 
lessons because his eyes hurt him — (lazy 
man's lion). She cannot eat the crusts of 
her bread because her gums are sore — 
(lazy man's lion). She cannot get up in 
time for breakfast because her throat pains 
her — (lazy man's lion). 

Look out for the lazy man's lion, that 
foolish excuse for not doing what we should 
do! 



[lo] 



THE LITTLE PREACHER 

EVERY SPRING IN THE BOSTON 
Public Gardens may be seen thou- 
sands of tulips, of many different 
colors and arranged in all sorts of flower beds; 
and in almost every city and village you will 
find some growing. 

These tulips are splendid little preachers, 
and they have two sermons. The first is, 
"Stand straight." And how straight the 
little preacher is himself! 

We need his sermon, for it is so easy for 
us to form the stooping habit. Over our 
desks in school, over our food at the table, 
over our games in the evening, over our work, 
be it washing or weeding, we find ourselves 
bending. There is danger of our going through 
life with head bowed, shoulders rounded, back 

[II] 



THE children's PULPIT 

bent, almost doubled up; but from the garden 
every little tulip preaches earnestly, "Stand 
straight, boys and girls, stand straight." 

His second sermon he preaches for our 
characters, as the first is for our bodies, and 
it is, "Learn to stand alone." The tulip 
does not cling to a trellis, nor ask for a stake, 
nor lean on its fellows. It can stand alone. 
So can the tulip boys and girls. The other 
kind of children cannot, but always depend 
on their companions. They think as the 
others think, and are ready to do wrong if 
the others say so. They cannot stand for 
the right alone. So these need the little 
tulip preacher, whose message is, "Learn to 
stand alone for what is right and true, pure 
and kind." And when the tulip stands 
straight, and stands alone, he is so bright 
and cheerful about it with his fine fiowers 
that everybody likes his two little sermons, 
and wants to follow their teachings. 

[12] 



^^•^■^^■'^•^^^^■■^^■■^■^■^^■■^■^■^^■•^ 


CUP OR SIEVE 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 



IN THE KITCHEN YOU WILL FIND 
many useful articles and among them 
a sieve and also a cup. If, this after- 
noon, your mother should call you to have 
some lemonade from a pitcherful she had 
made, what would you run to get — a cup 
or a sieve? "What an absurd question!" 
do you say? If you held out a sieve, all 
that she poured in would run right out, and 
you would have none at all. You would 
come to her with a cup, of course. 

Yet you often do bring a sieve when she 
calls you. In your mind, as well as in the 
kitchen, are a sieve and a cup. Often, when 
mother gives you directions for doing an 
errand, you take the sieve off the shelf in 
your mind and hold it out. All that she 

[13] 



THE children's PULPIT 

tells you goes right through, and you do not 
remember how to do it, perhaps forget it 
entirely. Boys and girls use the sieve alto- 
gether too much when their mothers give 
them advice or commands. That is why they 
forget so much. And sometimes when older 
people go to church they hold out a sieve 
for the sermon instead of a cup, and when 
they get home cannot tell what the minister 
preached about. The next time your father 
or mother starts to say something to you 
that seems important, ask them to wait a 
minute until you can take, from its hook 
in your mind, the cup which is called atten- 
tion, and then catch all that they say and 
keep it. 



[14] 



THE NEW YEARS NAME 

WE GIVE NAMES TO THE DAYS 
of the week, and names to the 
months, but never a name for 
the poor years. Like the convicts in prison 
they must simply be numbered. They ought 
to have names as well as the days and months. 
Now the wise people will arise and say that 
this is all nonsense, that it would make 
dreadful confusion to have nineteen hundred 
and ten different names. 

Let history keep its numbers if it chooses, 
but we are not going to live nineteen 
hundred years on earth and we surely 
could find sixty or seventy good names for 
the years that will be ours. At any rate try 
the experiment, and give a name to one year. 
You will find selecting the name difficult, 
[IS] 



THE children's PULPIT 

for you can give the year a boy's name, or a 
girl's name, or the name of a flower, a stone, 
a star, or some favorite tune. 

Let circumstances decide for you. If at 
Christmas you received a primrose, or cycla- 
men, or some violets that pleased you much, 
name the new year after the flower and try 
to carry its brightness all through the year. 
Or call it the opal year or the pearl year, 
after the stone in the ring your father gave 
you. Perhaps Bethlehem would suit many, 
in honor of the village, and also of the 
hymn and tune, which you could often hum 
during the year. If you are a little down- 
hearted, christen it Hope or Bravery. If you 
are careless and wish to improve, write its 
name down Faithful, and if you begin it 
by becoming a Christian, let that be its name 
through the entire period. At any rate give 
this next year a good name that means 
something to you. 

[i6] 



SIR GALAHAD 

MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN THE 
picture of Sir Galahad, one of 
the Knights of King Arthur's 
Round Table, in which he is represented as 
standing at the head of his horse. Like the 
other knights he was strong, brave, and ever 
ready to battle with sword or spear; but 
above most of them was he famous for his 
noble spirit and pure life. Tennyson puts 
into his lips these words in the poem bearing 
the knight's name: 

My strength is as the strength of ten, 
Because my heart is pure." 

It is a splendid experience to be strong, 
and purity helps make us strong. This is 
true of the body. Great athletes are very 
careful about bathing. They cannot do their 

[17] 



THE children's PULPIT 

best unless they keep clean. Of course in 
work and play dust and dirt will get on our 
bodies, but if left on they will take away 
some of our strength. 

The same is true of character. You will 
not have so strong a nature if you look at 
impure pictures, listen to impure stories, 
speak impure words, and indulge in impure 
acts. No temptations come to schoolboys 
and girls more dangerous than those which 
try to interest them in what is not nice and 
clean. 

Remember Sir Galahad. The next time 
anybody starts to show you a bad picture 
or to tell an unclean story, turn away, saying 
to yourself, "Sir Galahad." When an un- 
clean temptation appeals to you, or an evil 
thought comes into your heart, drive it 
away. Like Sir Galahad be strong and pure; 
be pure and you will be strong. 



[i8 



THE HOME STRETCH 

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN BOYS 
running a race? How gaily they 
start off, with a dash, every one 
fresh, eager, doing his best! Now watch 
them at the end of the race, as they come 
down the home stretch to the finishing line. 
Some are running finely, but others are 
shuffling along with a tired-out gait that 
seems to say, "I don't care, I'm not going to 
try any more." 

It is not the way they start out, but the 
way they come down the home stretch that , 
shows what kind of boys they are — shows 
not only which are the swiftest, but which 
are the pluckiest, doing their best to the very 
end, even though they cannot win. 

Studying in school is running the race of 

[19] 



THE children's PULPIT 

knowledge. The last few weeks before the 
long summer vacation, when most of the 
school year has passed, form "the home 
stretch." Often it happens that in spring 
school-days the faithful become careless, the 
diligent lazy, the ambitious indifferent. Some 
who have been doing their best all the year do 
not seem to care whether they succeed or 
fail. 

Now you can tell, better than at any 
time of the year, which of the scholars are 
going to make the finest men and women. 
You may be sure they are those who run 
finely down this home stretch of the school 
year, who work hard when the days grow 
longer and warmer, who keep their eyes on 
their books instead of out of the window, 
who make the last days before the vacation 
the best of all the year. 



[20] 



STOP, LOOK, LISTEN 

ONCE A RAILROAD ON WHOSE 
crossings many accidents had oc- 
curred, offered a large sum of money 
to the person who could furnish the best 
sign to put up where country roads crossed 
the railroad tracks. The prize was won by 
a man who suggested these three words, 
Stop, Look, Listen. 

Certainly these were fine words for that 
purpose; but they can be applied in other 
ways as well. 

Keep them in mind wherever you are, at 
home, in school, or in church; and especially 
when you go outdoors in the coming months. 
Sometimes when you take a walk, or make an 
excursion to some city, or visit the moun- 
tains or seashore, you go too fast and do 

[21] 



THE children's PULPIT 

not notice enough what is about you. Per- 
haps you wish to see how far you can walk 
or to reach some distant point; but stop, 
look, listen. Stop that you may rest awhile, 
look around for flowers, listen to the singing 
of birds. If you are with friends, do not 
chatter nonsense all the time, but stop, 
look, listen. Stop talking, look at the silent 
clouds, listen to the rustling of the breeze 
in the trees. You may be wondering what 
other people around are thinking of you, but 
stop, look, listen. Stop thinking about your- 
self, look for happy faces and kind deeds 
among the passers-by, listen for pleasant 
voices and new and interesting sounds. Jesus 
walked much and he must have walked in this 
manner, for we read of his stopping, and his 
teaching shows that he looked and listened. 
Whenever you go out, unless it is your duty 
to hurry, start on your walk with the words, 
"I must remember to stop, look, listen." 

[22] 



PARTNERS OF JESUS 

ON STORE SIGNS AND IN NEWS- 
paper advertisements you often see 
two names, for the business is 
managed by two men who are partners. 
Each does something to make their under- 
taking a success. Sometimes their shares 
are exactly aHke, but often they are differ- 
ent. One may give more money than the 
other; or one may supply the money and the 
other the experience; or one do the buying 
and the other the selling. 

In many of his wonderful works Jesus was 
alone, but in a few he had a partner. The 
miracle in which the most people shared and 
which is reported in more Gospel accounts 
than any other is the feeding of the five 
thousand, and that miracle Jesus did not try 

[23] 



THE children's PULPIT 

to do alone. He had a partner. That part- 
ner was a boy. They fed the five thousand 
together. The boy gave the five loaves and 
two small fishes, and Jesus blessed them and 
made them enough for all. Who fed the five 
thousand? Jesus and the boy. They were 
partners. 

Every boy and every girl may become a 
partner of Jesus. When you do things in 
his name, for his sake, for him, in the right 
spirit, you become his partner. He came to 
tell people about his heavenly Father, to 
make sick people well, to help the unfortu- 
nate, to make people do right. When we 
do these things for his sake we are really 
his partners. Start out some morning, say- 
ing: "Jesus shall be my partner to-day. In 
everything I will try to do what he would 
like to have me do. I will ask him to help 
me. When he helps me in doing his work, 
then we are partners — Jesus and I." 

[24] 



THE IFILLOJF 

MANY OF YOU KNOW THE 
tree which is called the weeping 
willow. It does not at all de- 
serve its name, for it is not a sad tree, but 
rather cheerful and winsome, with its long, 
flowing branches and its soft green color. 
If you pull one of its long, slender branches 
it yields, bending without breaking, not 
because it is weak, but because it is wise. 
When the wind blows how its arms sway 
with the breeze! And when the storm be- 
comes furious, damaging elms and maples, 
the willow's branches are whirled about but 
remain uninjured, because it yields so read- 
ily. 

Sometimes you should be as sturdy as an 
oak, but sometimes you should be like a wise 

[25] 



THE children's PULPIT 

willow. When one of your playmates be- 
comes angry with you, do not let anger break 
off your friendship, but be a wise willow 
and give up a little until his anger has blown 
over. Then all will be as well as before. 
If a rude boy snatches something from your 
hand, do not try to snatch back or strike. 
Like a wise willow, yield a little, and soon 
everything will be all right. Especially 
would brothers and sisters quarrel and dis- 
agree far less if when one begins to storm 
about something, the other would remember 
the willow. 

The wise willow people in the long run 
get their way far more than scrub-oak people, 
who never yield without a fuss. When Christ 
tells us that if a man takes our coat we 
should give him our cloak, also, and that if 
a man makes us go with him a mile, we 
should go with him two, he is bidding us be 
willows. 

[26] 



OHf COME ON 

THERE ARE VERY FEW EXPRES- 
sions used by boys and girls more 
important than "Oh! come on." 
How often a group of you are talking over 
some plan, undecided what to do! It may 
be some act to help others, or it may be harm- 
ful mischief, or it may be mere fun. Suddenly 
one strong, clear voice says, "Oh! come on," 
and its owner makes a start. Quickly the rest 
follow like a flock of sheep. There are few, 
if any, other words that can be the means 
either of so much good or so much harm. 

If you wish to be a person of influence 
have these three words on the end of your 
tongue, ready for use. Be careful, however, 
of the use you make of them. If it is wrong 
for you to do something, it is far worse to 

[27] 



THE children's PULPIT 

lead your companions into it by saying, "Oh! 
come on." You can take your own punish- 
ment, but you cannot bear their punishment. 
You may lead them into it, but they will 
have to suffer because of the wrong. If you 
have any doubt whether a thing is wise or 
right, never say, "Oh! come on." Watch, 
however, for the chances to use the words 
in leading your companions into some fine 
and kind, some pure, happy action — some- 
thing that you will be glad afterwards that 
you did. Do not argue, or coax; keep still 
until the right moment comes; then exclaim, 
"Oh! come on," and start at once yourself. 
In few ways can you be more of an influence 
for good with your associates. "Oh! come 
on. 



[28] 



THE RAMBLER ROSE 
FAMILY 

THERE ARE MANY BEAUTIFUL 
single flowers, hyacinths and daisies, 
carnations and violets, each blossom 
standing out by itself. There are also the fam- 
ily flowers, of which none is more charming 
than the rambler rose. The blossoms do not 
come out separately, but in clusters or families. 
On the end of the stem is a bunch of roses. 
You may call one the father, another the 
mother, and there are always some children. 
When all the members of a family do 
something together they form a rambler rose 
family. As all sit down at the table, or 
gather in the garden, or go off on a picnic 
together, let somebody exclaim, "Now we 
are a rambler rose family!" 

[29] 



THE children's PULPIT 

Next Sunday morning notice in your 
church the rambler rose famihes, where 
every member is present at the morning ser- 
vice, and all are sitting together; and when 
you come home to dinner make a list of them. 
How many do you suppose there are in your 
church? Then do not forget the Sunday- 
school. There all cannot sit together, and 
some may belong to the Home Department. 
A Sunday-school might well have a list of 
the families of which every one is a member 
and call it "The Rambler Rose Honor Roll." 

Best of all is the family where all are 
members of the church, or where all have 
given themselves to Christ and are striving 
to live Christian lives — one of Christ's 
rambler roses. Forget not to pray that 
your family in all that is bright and beau- 
tiful and good may be a Rambler Rose 
Family. 

[30] 



THE HONOR FLAG 

ALL THROUGH THE COUNTRY 
you will find flags floating on the 
schoolhouses during school hours. 
In some places they may be seen there all 
the time, even during vacations. This is 
a splendid custom. 

Every boy and girl, however, should have 
a flag all his own. A child without a flag 
is almost as unfortunate as "a man without 
a country." You do not need a large and 
expensive one, but it should be your own 
individual flag, to be placed in the window 
of your room when occasion arises. 

A good way to use it is as an honor flag. 

When President Taft came to Beverly for 
his summer home it was suggested that each 
boy and girl have an honor flag to keep in 

[31] 



THE children's PULPIT 

sight while the President was in that city. 
The President sometimes takes long trips, 
visiting many states. Be sure to have your 
"honor flag" flying the days that he is in 
your state. 

Use it for others also. If the governor of 
your state comes to your county or city, or 
some other man or woman you delight to 
honor, up with your flag. If you have as a 
visitor in your home some dear friend of 
your father or mother, or some relative, in 
honor of this visitor let your flag be seen. 
You might even use it when your pastor or 
Sunday-school teacher calls. 

Certainly you will not forget it on national 
holidays and on the birthdays of the mem- 
bers of your family and of your friends. 
What would you think of putting out your 
"honor flag" every Sunday .^^ 



[32] 



THE FIRST-FRUITS 

THE OLD JEWISH LAW CALLED 
upon the people to give the first 
of everything to God — the first 
of the flocks and herds, the first of each crop 
as it was gathered. Christians are not re- 
quired to do this, but it is a beautiful custom. 
A successful young man employed in New 
York made it his rule, whenever his salary 
was increased, to give the first week's in- 
crease to the church, or to the poor as a 
thank-offering to God. 

There is always a peculiar pleasure in 
gathering the first of each thing that grows 
— the first violets, the first daisies, the first 
berries, the first cherries. 

How many of you are willing this year 
to regard the first-fruits as "sacred unto 

[33] 



THE children's PULPIT 

the Lord," not to be used for yourselves? 
When you find this summer the first of 
any kind of blossom, do not stick it in your 
own buttonhole, nor place it in a vase in 
your own room, but give it to some one to 
whom Jesus would be glad to have you 
give it — some sick or aged person, to some 
lonely or troubled one, to one of your parents 
or grandparents. So also with the first 
berries you pick, or cherries, or apples, or 
the first nuts you find. 

If you have some money, do not spend 
from it for yourselves and then give the 
rest in Sunday-school, but set apart first 
the pennies for Christ and then spend the 
rest as may seem best and right. All your 
lives let the "first-fruits" be used in an 
unselfish way. 



[34] 



PRATING OUTDOORS 

YOU OFTEN ASK IF YOU MAY 
go outdoors to play, and many 
times you are sent out to get the 
fresh air and exercise as you play. 

Were you ever sent outdoors to pray, or 
did you ever go for that purpose? To some 
this may seem a strange question. The 
church and the bedside at night seem the 
places to pray, and so they are. Never for- 
get that nor fail to do it. But remember 
also that outdoors is a splendid place for 
prayer, especially in summer. I pray out- 
doors more in the three summer months 
than in all the other nine. 

Jesus was especially fond of praying out- 
doors. We read of his praying in the open 
air, more than of his praying in houses, 

[35] 



THE children's PULPIT 

synagogues, or in the temple. Once he went 
out early in the morning in a quiet country 
place to pray; several times he sought the 
mountains for this purpose; you remember 
his praying in the Garden of Gethsemane 
and on Calvary. He began his ministry by 
praying as he was baptized in the river Jor- 
dan and ended it by praying in blessing his 
disciples as he ascended into the clouds. 

If Jesus prayed so much outdoors, surely 
you will enjoy doing it. Try it this summer 
when you are under the trees, or on a hill- 
top, or in a meadow, or beside the sea. Thank 
God for the beautiful things you are enjoy- 
ing: for your health, your happy times, 
your friends, your parents. Ask him to 
make you brave, kind, patient, and true. 
You need not kneel down, nor say any words 
out loud, nor even move your lips nor close 
your eyes — just make it a happy little prayer 
in your heart. 

[36] 



GIVING A VACATION 

HOW FINE IT IS TO HAVE A 
vacation! You enjoy getting them, 
but how about giving them? Let 
me suggest some you can give. 

Take a pitcher of water, when the season 
is dry and hot, find a Httle plant that looks 
wilted and say to it: "Little plant, your 
roots are working very hard to find enough 
moisture to keep you alive. To-day you 
shall have a vacation, for I am going to give 
you plenty of water, and you can drink all 
you want, without any hard work." Then 
sprinkle the water gently on the leaves, and 
soak the ground with it. 

Another day take a lot of crumbs and per- 
haps bits of meat out where some birds have 
been working very hard trying to get food 

[37] 



THE children's PULPIT 

enough for the little birdlings. Then say- 
to them, "Little birds, to-day you may have 
a vacation from your hard work, for here is 
enough food for all your family." 

To your father say, "Father, I am going 
to give you a vacation this week from call- 
ing me in the morning and from making me 
go to bed at night; for every morning I intend 
to be on time for breakfast without being 
called, and to go to bed every night without 
being sent." And to your mother, "Mother 
dear, you are to have a month's vacation 
from picking up things from the floor, for I 
mean to be watchful and quick to pick 
up everything myself." And to your Sun- 
day-school teacher say, "You are to have a 
vacation, as long as the hot weather lasts, 
from saying, 'Now, children, I want you to 
listen,' for we intend to pay careful atten- 
tion all the time." Be careful to give as 
well as to have a vacation. 

[38] 



A DROP OF DEW 

IF YOU WERE ASKED TO SELECT 
some object in nature that would rep- 
resent God, most of you would name 
the sun. Others would say that God was 
like a mountain, or like the sea, or like some 
great tree. You would be apt to choose 
something large and glorious. 

But the Bible speaks in one place of God 
as like the dew. To-morrow morning go 
outdoors as early as you can and find on 
some flower or blade of grass a tiny drop of 
dew, and as you look at it remember that 
God is like that drop of dew. 

How pure it is! The water of the ocean 
has salt in it; rain-water has caught some of 
the dust floating in the air; many streams 
and ponds are a little muddy; and even 

[39] 



THE children's PULPIT 

springs and brooks that seem clear contain 
minerals and other substances in solution, 
as the chemists say. But a dewdrop is per- 
fectly pure, with a purity like the holiness 
of God. 

Then in coming it never hurts. The 
rain sometimes beats down the plants; the 
streams and torrents often do injury, and the 
sea destroys much; but the dewdrop is water 
coming with the gentlest touch, like our 
tender heavenly Father. 

Like God, it comes silently. You can- 
not see it come. You cannot see it go; and 
it always refreshes wherever it touches. It 
comes also when it is most needed, in the 
hottest summer weather. 

So look at it to-morrow, and pray that 
you may be like God and the dewdrop, pure, 
gentle, a blessing wherever you go. 



[40] 



THE BRUISED REED 

IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS OF 
the Old Testament are many beauti- 
ful sayings that seem to point to Christ 
and certainly apply to him. Of these, few 
are more true than Isaiah's words, "A bruised 
reed will he not break." 

It is so easy for us, if a thing is injured, 
to injure it some more. If a boy sees an old 
house with half the panes of glass in it broken, 
he usually feels like throwing stones and break- 
ing some more. If the branch of a plant is 
bending down badly hurt, almost without 
thinking a girl will take hold of it with a pull 
that breaks it off. And when one is walking 
along a country road how easy to hit with a 
cane or step with the foot on a bruised stalk. 
Whenever you see anything that has been 

[41] 



THE children's PULPIT 

injured, think of the Christ who never broke 
the bruised reed, and do not hurt it any more. 
This applies also to our treatment of 
people. If an unkind remark is made about 
some girl, do not break the bruised reed by 
following it with another unkind remark. 
If some one is blaming a boy, do not be so 
anxious to add your faultfinding. It is 
easy to be a friend to the successful. But 
Christ thought of the troubled and the hurt. 



[42 



BEING CONTRARY 

TO BE CONTRARY IS TO BE 
opposite to all the rest, to refuse 
to agree with them; and generally 
a contrary person is a very disagreeable 
one to have around. There are times, how- 
ever, when it is well to be contrary, and of 
those I wish to speak. In winter, when it 
is bitter cold, how fine to have something 
which is exactly the opposite — a bright, 
hot fire! On a hot midsummer day, how 
refreshing a "contrary" glass of water, which 
insists on being cold when everybody and 
everything is hot! We enjoy the north wind 
not when it agrees with the ice and snow 
of winter, but when it disagrees with the 
burning heat of summer. Sometimes, too, it 
is nice to have children contrary. 

[43] 



THE children's PULPIT 

If you come home some day and find 
every one out of sorts in the house (per- 
haps that never happens in your town, 
but if it does), then instead of being like 
the rest, out of sorts, be contrary, that is, 
just the opposite, and show yourself cheerful, 
smiling, and good-natured. If you are with 
a company of people who are discouraged, 
show yourself contrary by being hopeful; 
if all are frightened, show your contrari- 
ness by being brave; if all are quarreling, 
be contrary in becoming a peacemaker. I 
heard of two people who lived together 
happily because they had agreed never to 
be cross at the same time. If one was cross, 
the other was always the contrary, good- 
natured. Some people like to be contrary. 
Well, let them look out, and they will find 
plenty of chances when it is all right to be 
contrary. 

[44] 



SUNLIKE 

BOYS AND GIRLS SHOULD NOT 
only attend church, but should do 
it in the right way. In coming on 
Sunday mornings try to be like the sun. 

He is regular and comes every day. What 
if he should be too tired or lazy, or go off 
some day to visit Jupiter or Saturn, or to 
chase some comet? He does not do any such 
thing, nor does he "forget all about it." 
How fine if you could be as regular for a 
whole year as the sun and not miss any more 
Sundays than he does! 

He is on time. If he should not start 
from the horizon until the day was quarter 
over, and then be seen scrambling up the sky 
to make up for lost time, he would remind 
you of the people late to church as they 

[45] 



THE children's PULPIT 

hurry up the steps and down the aisle. On 
time is a good rule. 

The sun is always bright faced; you never 
see him scowling. The clouds may hide his 
face, but they belong to the earth and not 
to him. His face never fails to be cheery. 
So away with cross faces and sulky looks, 
and come to church with sunrise faces. 

Then look at the minister as the sun looks 
at you, with a full face turned toward you. 
The moon sometimes shows you a full face, 
sometimes half or quarter, and part of the 
time is turned entirely away. That is the 
view the minister often gets of some faces 
in the congregation. They are turned down, 
or sideways in whispering to the next per- 
son, or all the way around in looking back. 
These are the moon listeners; but better be 
sunrise listeners, looking all the time so that 
when your minister turns toward you he 
will always see a full face. 

[46] 



friSE DOFES 

WE ARE TOLD TO BE AS WISE 
as serpents and as harmless as 
doves, but one day I saw in 
the railroad station at Springfield five doves 
that were as wise as they were harmless. 
It was a dreadful day, the rain coming down 
in torrents and great crowds rushing about, 
which trains from north, south, east, and 
west had brought there. A man was put- 
ting some peanuts on the platform for these 
doves, and they were busily and happily 
eating them. It would not have been sur- 
prising if they had refused to touch them, 
afraid of the crowds of people all about, or 
in dread of the trucks loaded with baggage 
which might run over them. They were 
sensible doves, however, not allowing these 

l47] 



^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ''^ ^1^ *^ ^ ^ *^ *^ ^ *^ ^1^ ^l^ ^l^ ^ ^ *&^ 

THE children's PULPIT 

disturbing circumstances to spoil their enjoy- 
ment of the good things which were being 
offered them. 

Boys and girls are not always as wise. 
Some will complain all through a good din- 
ner and not half enjoy it, because it is rain- 
ing outside. Others will fuss and [fume 
over an interesting book just because they 
happen to be hot. Often children will 
spoil a pleasure party because they cannot 
sit next to a favorite friend or play the game 
they prefer. You will even see occasionally 
a Sunday-school scholar sit sulking through 
the lesson because she has a substitute in- 
stead of her regular teacher. Learn like the 
wise doves to enjoy what you have, even if 
some of the surroundings are not just what 
you would like. 



[48] 



MAKING FACES 

DID YOU EVER MAKE FACES AT 
anybody? You know that it is not 
nice, and that children who do such 
things are often punished for it. But we are 
making faces for ourselves all the time. 

If you are real cross, you scowl and wrinkle 
your face, just above your nose and between 
your eyes. If you are worried and anxious, 
some lines appear across your forehead. 
If you smile, some little lines run from the 
outer corner of your eyes toward your hair, 
spreading out like a fan. If you laugh, you 
have some dimples in your cheeks or other 
marks about your mouth. 

Now just as soon as you stop being cross, or 
worrying, or smiling, or laughing, these lines 
and wrinkles disappear. Still the muscles 

[49] 



THE children's PULPIT 

get in the habit of making these marks and, 
if you keep on they grow deeper, and at 
last are there all the time. When you are 
not cross, the wrinkles that show irritation 
are there. When no merriment is in your 
heart, the smiling lines are there. All these 
years you have been making your face, and 
you have to wear it all the time. 

As you enter a car of older people you 
often can tell much about them by the faces 
they have made and are wearing. That one 
is pleasant and jolly, for the smiling lines 
are there; that one's wife and children must 
have a hard time in life, for he has lots of 
scowling furrows on his face. The next one 
is a trial to his friends; the marks of "I 
never give up to others" he has written all 
over his face. Be careful, because in smiling 
and scowling, in laughing and frowning, you 
are making the faces you will have to wear 
when you are older. 

[so] 



WALKING WITH GOD 

WE LIKE TO WALK WITH OUR 
friends. Nowhere is this more 
apparent than in school. Watch 
the boys and girls as they are coming home 
and see how they pair off or group themselves 
according to their fondness for each other. 
The pleasure of walking with those we love 
and enjoy is one of the greatest in life. 

We are told that Enoch walked with God, 
and we feel that we should; but how can a 
boy or girl walk with God ? To walk with a 
person you must be going in the same direc- 
tion. You may be on the same street, but 
that is not enough, for both must face the 
same way and be near each other. Christ 
came to show us how we can keep step with 
God. 

[SI] 



THE children's PULPIT 

When you are going where you should 
go, you are walking with God. When you 
start out for school in the morning and go 
along happily and in a nice way, you are 
walking with God. So you are when you 
are cheerfully doing an errand, or helping 
somebody, or on your way to church or 
Sunday-school. So you are when you are 
enjoying a pleasant tramp, or visiting any 
place, or doing anything which it is right 
for you to do. 

"Shall two walk together, except they 
have agreed?" says the Bible. So must 
you be agreed with God. If you are saying 
and doing things that would displease him, 
even though on your way to church, you 
are not walking with him. When you are 
planning mischief or teasing others, you are 
not. Every day, almost, you take a walk 
with God, and some days you walk with 
him almost all the time. 

[52] 



THE CACTUS BLOSSOM 

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A CAC- 
tus? How stiff and ungainly it 
looks, with great thick leaves, 
which can neither sway gracefully nor rustle 
with sweet music! Often, too, it has thorns, 
many and sharp, and is the least attractive 
of plants. But a lover of flowers takes a 
cactus, gives it sunshine, and water, and 
tender care. At last she makes the cactus 
blossom, and how beautiful its flowers! Few 
plants produce blooms with richer coloring, 
with more of glory in them. I have seen 
their clumsy stalks and leaves simply cov- 
ered with splendid flowers. 

Now it is a fine thing to make a cactus 
blossom, to bring smiles on a gloomy, cross 
face. It is easy enough to make some 

[S3] 



THE children's PULPIT 

people smile and laugh, for they are all ready 
to do it for the slightest reason. Some others, 
however, are unhappy, cross, or depressed. 
Their faces have as little charm about them 
as a thorny cactus. When you meet one of 
those comes your chance to make a cactus 
blossom. See if you can say some bright, 
cheery word, or do some pleasing deed that 
will bring a smile to that face. If you can, 
then you have made a cactus blossom. It 
is very hard; sometimes you must try often 
and thoughtfully, but it is worth while. 
This you must not speak of, but keep it in 
your heart, because it might hurt others' 
feelings if they knew that you thought of 
them as cactus plants. Nevertheless, if you 
see a child crying, try to make it laugh; if a 
man looks glum, make him smile; if a woman 
is cross, make her look happy; if a young 
person is out of sorts, start her singing. Make 
the cactus blossom. 

[54] 



TEARS 

DO YOU EVER CRY? BABIES 
must because it is their only way 
of telling that they are hungry or 
in pain. They have a right to do it. But 
when they have learned to talk, it is not 
so necessary. When should a person give 
up crying.^ At five years of age, or ten, or 
twenty? The answer is, "Do not stop as 
long as you live." Pity the person who has 
no tears to shed. Jesus wept more than 
once. 

Let me suggest, however, two rules about 
crying. The first is that it is not well to 
cry a good while. A long cry makes your 
eyes red and gives you a headache. One 
minute is long enough for a real good cry. 
That will give you about all the good there 

[ss] 



THE children's PULPIT 

is in it, and not do any real harm; but at 
the end of sixty seconds stop. The next 
time you hurt yourself or anything happens 
that starts the tears, let them come; and 
then, at the end of a minute, say, "Time's 
up; no more tears." Then try to think 
about something else. 

The second rule is that some of your 
tears should be like Christ's tears — for 
other people's troubles. He never wept for 
himself. You may not be able to be like 
him altogether, but follow him part way. 
Let half your tears be for others. Was the 
last time you cried caused by your own 
troubles? Then shed no more tears for your- 
self until your sympathy with other people 
has touched you and made you weep. Have 
some Christ tears before you cry for your- 
self again. 



56] 



♦ •^•^••i?^*-*-*-*--*--*--*-'*-*'*-'*--*--*--*"*-* 


HONEY 


* ^ 4- •*••*• 4!- -^^ * 4- •#••$••#••#••#••#••#• 4- * -l^ •#• 



MANY PEOPLE ARE VERY 
fond of sweet things, especially 
candy. Most of these sweets are 
made by man out of juices, by various 
processes, some of them quite complicated. 
One of them is made directly by God for 
us, for I know of only one that nature pro- 
duces exactly in the form in which we use 
it, and that is honey. The bees make it, 
and just as it is, we eat it and enjoy it. 

In Proverbs we are told that pleasant 
words are like honey, and surely whoever 
produces pleasant words is one of God's 
honey-makers. Hunters are always on the 
lookout for honey, and I wish to call your 
attention not so much to producing honey 
as to recognizing it. 

[57] 



THE children's PULPIT 

Years ago whenever anybody told an old 
story, or uttered a familiar saying, some one 
was sure to say, "Chestnuts!" To-day, in 
some regions, if any one is hit by a remark, 
some person present is sure to exclaim, 
"Stung!" I wish to suggest another expres- 
sion, one of praise. When some one utters a 
pleasant word at the table, show your appreci- 
ation by saying, "Honey!" When a compli- 
ment is given, a cheery word spoken, let some 
person present endorse it by saying, "Honey!" 
And even where the expression is not used, 
learn to find out all the honeyed words and 
deeds. Enjoy them, show appreciation of 
them. How much honey is made that no 
one ever notices! 



[58] 



THE AUTUMN LEAF 

HOW OLD IS THE PRETTIEST 
autumn leaf you have found this 
year? About six months is its 
age, and now it is near its end. It was a 
nice leaf in the spring, a fine one all summer; 
but it is brighter and more cheery now than 
ever. Its motto is, Be Brightest at the End. 
It is easy for boys and girls to be merry 
and cheerful at the beginning, but so hard 
to be like an autumn leaf, brightest at the 
close. 

You are cheerful in the morning because 
you feel fresh; but at night do you generally 
look as bright as an autumn leaf? When 
school opens, your faces shine and you are 
radiant as you take up the first exercise, 
but does the school during the last half-hour 

[59] 



THE children's PULPIT 

remind you of an oak or maple with its 
golden foliage? 

Wanted, every day, boys and girls who 
will be autumn leaves from three o'clock 
until bedtime. People say O. K. often when 
they mean all right. You may ask mother 
when you go to bed to-night, "Mother, have I 
been an A. L. this afternoon and evening?" 



60] 



GRANDPARENTS 

HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW 
about Grandmother Lois? She 
was the grandmother of Timothy, 
and when he was a boy she taught him many 
things about the Bible which Paul wished 
him to remember. How many of you know 
about Grandfather Jacob? The "grand- 
father" chapter of the Bible, Genesis forty- 
eight, tells how the blind grandfather blessed 
his grandsons. Read it some day. 

Every one of you ought to have a grand- 
father and a grandmother. If you have none 
living, find some persons right away who 
would make good ones for you, and adopt 
them! 

First of all, find out your grandparents' 
birthdays, and never fail to remember them 

[6il 



THE children's PULPIT 

with a letter or a visit and some birthday 
present. Usually they cannot go out as 
much as you, so when you go off for a fine 
time, be sure to bring them something when 
you come home, even if it is only a flower, 
or a picture, or a piece of candy. 

Honor your father and mother, and grand- 
honor your grandfather and grandmother. 
Everything you do toward them is doubled. 
If you disturb them with your noise it is 
twice as bad as troubling other people. If 
you hurt their feelings, it is the worst kind 
of a wrong thing. If, however, you help 
them, it is a grand helping; if you please 
them, it is a grand pleasure; and when you 
honor them, it is indeed grand honoring. 



[62] 



THE BALDWIN APPLE 
FLAVOR 

ON A SHELF IN MY ROOM WERE 
placed six big Baldwin apples, 
which a kind deacon had picked 
from his apple-tree and given to me. The 
next time I came into the room, I found it 
filled with a rich, sweet fragrance from those 
apples. And when we ate them what a 
fine flavor they had! If these Baldwins 
had been without fragrance and flavor, small, 
knotty, juiceless, tasteless, they would have 
been apples just the same, but oh, how dif- 
ferent! How much more of a treat they were 
because they had the Baldwin apple flavor 
and fragrance! 

The trouble with so many of our words 
and deeds is that though they are good 

[63] 



THE children's PULPIT 

words and good deeds they do not have a 
fine flavor or a sweet fragrance. Sometimes 
we are told to do an errand. We obey; oh, 
yes, we do it; but with a sigh or a scowl, with 
a whine or a grunt. It is obedience, but 
with no fine flavor to it. Nobody enjoys it 
very much. Or we say, "Thank you," as 
though it were being pulled out of our 
mouths with a pair of dentist's pincers. 

Try to give a Baldwin apple flavor to every 
act of obedience, and a Baldwin apple fra- 
grance to every "please" and "thank you"; 
to every "good morning" and "I am glad 
to see you"; for proper deeds and proper 
words give little pleasure unless they have 
in them the right spirit, which is their flavor 
and fragrance. 



[64] 



NOVEMBER RAINS 

HOW WELCOME THE SPRING 
showers falling gently and encour- 
aging the growing plants! How 
delightful the summer showers, clearing and 
cooling the air! Very different are the No- 
vember rains, cold and dreary, and no one 
praises them. This is not fair. They seem 
disagreeable but are really our best friends. 
They soak into the ground, deep down, feed- 
ing the springs, filling the reservoirs. All 
through the winter they supply us with 
water. When you have a good drink of 
water or a fine bath, say, "Thanks to the 
November rains." 

Then they supply the plant roots so that 
when the spring opens there will be plenty 
of sap. The maple syrup and the first buds 

[65] 



THE children's PULPIT 

come so early because of the November rains. 
You should remember next spring in all the 
loveliness of its unfolding to say, "Hurrah 
for the November rains!" 

Often children complain of some studies 
in school, arithmetic or geography or lan- 
guage, that they are of no use. Perhaps 
not now, but they are like November rains. 
After a few months or years their value will 
appear. How foolish if the ground should 
refuse the November rain because it did not 
need it then! You think that going to bed 
early, studying your Sunday-school lesson, 
attending church when you cannot under- 
stand the sermon, are of no use. They are 
November rains. Accept them now, and the 
good will come by and by. 

So when you do a kind deed, that seems 
unappreciated, do not think it wasted, but 
call it a November rain that will in time be 
a blessing. 

[66] 



4- 4- * * •#• 4- -(5^ ♦ •*• 4- ♦ ♦ •*• 4- •*• ♦ •*• •*• •#> * 


FOR 


ANOTHER 


^ ^ ^ -^ «5&» *^ -^ -^ -^ -^Sj* -^ -^ -kS* «{^ ■^ -^ -^ •^ <^ •A 



" >^^H, DON'T PUNISH ME! I'LL 

I I never do it again. I will be 
^^^ good." Did you ever say that? 
Most boys and girls have said it, not a few 
times, but many. And how many more 
times have you said: "Please let me have 
this." "Please let me do that." 

Asking for yourselves, this is; but some- 
times you have asked for others. How often 
have you pleaded that your brother or sis- 
ter or schoolmate should not receive the 
punishment about to be inflicted, or coaxed 
that some one else might receive some candy 
or other dainty or the privilege of having 
some pleasure? There is a long but very 
beautiful word, intercession^ which means 
pleading for another. 

[67] 



THE children's PULPIT 

Walking through a city street I was be- 
sought by children for some of the flowers 
I was carrying in my hands. When I had 
given away all I could spare, I started to 
refuse all requests, but one little fellow begged 
me to give one to a tiny girl, and I could 
not resist. People often consent when one 
intercedes for another, even though they 
would have refused the direct request. We 
are told that Christ ever liveth to make inter- 
cession for others. It is Christlike to inter- 
cede. All this week remember to ask good 
things for other boys and girls, and that 
others may be forgiven and not punished, 
even though in both cases you do not fare 
so well yourself. 



[68] 



TABLE MJNNERS 

YOU OFTEN CAN TELL MORE 
about a person by his table man- 
ners than in any other way. In 
half an hour he shows his training, how much 
of a gentleman he is and many other things. 
Look out for your table manners. I do not 
mean so much whether a man eats with his 
knife, or takes a pudding with a spoon which 
should be taken with a fork, or whether 
he uses in the right order the half dozen 
forks that he finds by his place at some 
fine dinner; but other more important things, 
and two in particular. 

First, there is no place where there are 
so many opportunities to say ''please" and 
"thank you." Probably in all the rest of 
the day put together the occasions for these 

[69] 



THE children's PULPIT 

expressions are less than during the three 
meals. Count the number of times that 
these are used at your table, and you will 
have one way of judging what kind of a 
family yours is. And for yourself alone, 
how often do you employ them? Count 
to yourself one day. Will you reach "please" 
twenty times and ''thank you" as many 
more? And which will you use the most? 
The table is a fine place for unselfishness. 
You have heard of people who sleep with 
one eye open. You should eat with both 
eyes open, watching out of the corners to 
see whether those on either side of you, 
especially, are in need of something. Before 
they have a chance to ask for another glass 
of water, a second piece of bread, some more 
butter, do you ask if they need it, and see 
that they are supplied. Be so thoughtful 
that they will not need to say "please," and 
will have many chances to say "thank you." 

[70] 



ANSWERING THE CALL 

HOW MANY, MANY TIMES YOU 
boys and girls hear somebody call- 
ing you, from morning to night! 
You really grow tired of it and wish that 
they would leave you alone. Sometimes 
you do not answer at all, or shout out, 
''WhatV 

It cannot be helped, however, and as you 
are bound to be called and have to answer 
sooner or later, you might as well do it in 
the right way and get some credit for it. 
There is one boy in the Bible who knew how 
to do it. When he was called in the night, 
he answered, "Here am I," and then went 
straight to the person he thought had called 
him. Samuel's way was the best. 

I knew a small boy and girl who adopted 

[71] 



THE children's PULPIT 

this phrase. As soon as the name of either 
was sounded, a voice would ring out, "Here 
am I," and the sound of the feet, coming to 
report, would be heard. Teach your younger 
brothers and sisters, or little friends, Samuel's 
way, and when you hear them replying, 
"Here am I," you will like it so well that 
you will be taking it up yourself. In the 
family I referred to, the mother commenced 
to use it, and "Here am I," used to sound 
very sweet when the children called for her. 
How much better it is for a boy or girl than 
a drawled out, "What.^" especially if fol- 
lowed by quick steps, running to the person 
calling. And best of -all is it when to it is 
added the name of the one calling, "Here 
am I, mother." 



[72] 



THE RELATIVES OF 
PROFANirr 

PROBABLY NOT ONE OF THE 
readers of this sermon ever uses 
profanity, that is, takes God's name 
in vain. Did you know, however, that pro- 
fanity has lots of relatives, not actual swear- 
ing, but kin to it? There are its nephews, 
"damn it," "darn it," "the devil," and "hell." 
Then it has many first cousins, such as 
"gosh," "gee"; and there are its second 
cousins, such as "oh, heavens." Its grand- 
children are "golly," "by George," "by 
jiminy," and many others. Among its great- 
grandchildren are "whew" and "ouch," and 
then there are such distant relatives as 
"goodness me." 

Each year new relatives are born into 

[73] 



^ ^ ^ -^ ^ ^ ^ -^ ^ ^*^ *^ ^ *^ *^ ^ ^ ^ *^ '^ 

THE children's PULPIT 

the family, in the form of the latest slang; 
some are very distant relatives and others 
are double cousins. Like ordinary profan- 
ity, these are used as exclamations, with 
little or no appropriateness or meaning. 
Bringing them into the conversation has 
become a habit, and we do not realize how 
often they fall from our lips. They really 
weaken our speech, lose for us the respect 
of others, and are silly. 

Look out for these relatives of profan- 
ity. They may not be very bad, or do 
much harm, but they are of no value whatso- 
ever, and really injure. Almost all boys and 
girls have adopted some of these expres- 
sions, which they say are "nothing but 
slang." They come from your lips far more 
than you realize. Ask your friends to tell 
you what relatives of profanity are your 
favorites, and how many times in a day you 
use them. 

[74] 



CONQUERING THE 
DARKNESS 

WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE 
been done in recent years in 
conquering the darkness. Our 
houses are made bright with oil lamps 
instead of candles, and electric lights in place 
of gas. This is not enough. Every boy 
should conquer the darkness for himself, and 
so should every girl for herself. 

Are you afraid of the dark? Some chil- 
dren are afraid unless a lamp is left burning 
in the room when they go to bed; others 
will not enter a dark room alone; others are 
brave enough for that but would not go 
down cellar or up-stairs by themselves with- 
out a light. Would you go into your own 
house at night if there were no person there 

[75] 



THE children's PULPIT 

nor any light? Good for you, if you would! 
Would you go into a dark church alone? 

Many boys and girls have never outgrown 
their fear of the darkness, but it can be con- 
quered by practise. If you are afraid to 
go into an unlighted room alone, some day 
open the door and look in. The next day 
stand on the threshold, and on the following 
take one step in. Each time do a little more 
and in a week or two you will be able to go 
into that dark room without any fear whatso- 
ever. Then try going up-stairs and after- 
wards down cellar, and in time you will 
conquer darkness and no longer be its slave. 

But you should conquer it in another 
way. Learn to go up and down stairs, to 
make your way about a room, and even to 
find things, though it is pitch dark. The 
blind are in the dark all the time, without 
fear and able to do many things. We must 
not let them get too far ahead of us. 

[76] 



SNOJFFLAKE FEET 

OFTEN HAVE YOU LISTENED TO 
the rain-drops patter on the roof 
or beat against the window-panes. 
Sometimes they come down quite noisily. 
Their brothers, the hailstones, make even 
more of a commotion and hurt when they 
hit; but still other members of the sky fam- 
ily, that come to us from the clouds, are very 
quiet. These are the snowflakes. 

How gently they come down, never hurt- 
ing any one with their fall, and how silently! 
Sometimes they keep coming all night, and 
millions jump from the sky to the earth so 
quietly that you do not know it until day- 
light. 

You will find the same difference in foot- 
steps. There are the thunder feet, and when 

[77\ 



THE children's PULPIT 

their owners come into the house, you can 
hear them banging along. There are the 
wind feet, that make everything shake as 
they step, even causing the whole house to 
quiver. The hailstone feet are the ones 
that keep hitting, and hurt the floor, and the 
carpet, and the furniture. The rain feet 
keep up a perpetual patter, until they tire 
those who hear them; but the snowflake feet, 
how pleasant they are! They come down 
softly, so quietly that you do not hear them. 
No one at work is disturbed, no headache 
is made worse, no damage wrought. 

Mothers have snowflake feet, especially 
when they move around at night. Fathers 
and girls sometimes have them, but boys 
less often. If some one is asleep, or sick, 
or in trouble, better put on your snowflake 
shoes. No, in the house always have them 
on, and in church and in school. When you 
play outdoors, you might take them off. 

[78] 



CLEAN HANDS 

HOW MANY TIMES YOU HAVE 
heard the question, "Are your 
hands clean?" or the command, 
''Run, now, and wash your hands"; or the 
exclamation, "Why! what looking hands! 
I should think that you would be ashamed!" 
While it does seem a bother to wash your 
hands so often, all of you know that you do 
not enjoy eating with people or shaking hands 
with them, if yours are well washed and theirs 
unclean; and that it spoils much of the pleas- 
ure in reading a book if its pages are marked 
with the prints of dirty thumbs and fingers. 
Another kind of "clean hands" is referred 
to in that noble Twenty-Fourth Psalm. Here 
IS meant the hands that are not soiled and 
stained by having done wrong things. When 

[79] 



THE children's PULPIT 

hands take the best, or snatch greedily some 
desired object, or carelessly tear up a pic- 
ture, or slap another's face, or in anger 
break something, or impatiently slam a door, 
they are not clean. In teasing each other 
boys and girls often pinch, and pull and push, 
and throw things or hide them, and do much 
that makes their hands unclean. And if 
you have soiled them thus, how can they 
be made clean? Ask the forgiveness of those 
you have treated badly, and offer a prayer 
for pardon to your heavenly Father, and in 
addition, let your hands do some "clean" 
things right away. Stroke the kitten until 
she purrs; pick up and put in their places 
things lying around the room; gather and 
give some flowers to some sick person; shovel 
snow, or pull weeds, or rake up autumn 
leaves, according to the season of the year. 
Do many kind deeds with your hands until 
they have become clean again. 

[80] 



ANGELS 

WHEN I WAS A BOY WE USED 
to sing a hymn which com- 
menced, "I want to be an angel 
and with the angels stand." Would you like 
to become an angel now, at once? Few, 
if any, of you would answer, "Yes." But 
perhaps you are angels already. Do you 
think that you are.^ Do your friends be- 
lieve that you are.^ 

What is an angel .^ You first think of 
them as having wings; but if you read the 
angel stories in the first chapters of Matthew 
and Luke, and in other places in the Gos- 
pels, you will find no mention of wings. You 
can be an angel without wings. 

The word angel is derived from the Greek 
word angelos^ meaning messenger. All through 

[8i] 



THE children's PULPIT 

the Bible you will find one thing true of all 
the angels mentioned as being on earth — they 
were messengers, they were doing errands. 
Their object was to bring truth, guidance, or 
comfort to people here on earth. 

An angel is, then, one who brings mes- 
sages from God to men, one who does God's 
errands in blessing people. It is not so 
hard, then, to be an angel. Often when 
you are running on an errand in the right 
spirit you are an angel. When you go to 
comfort and cheer some one you are often 
an angel. A little boy came to my house 
in a dreadful storm to tell me that a sick 
neighbor needed me. Surely that boy was 
an angel. 

I know lots of angels, see them every 
day, watch them carrying God's messages, 
doing God's errands. Some are men and 
women; some are boys and girls. How 
many angels do you know? 

[82] 



THE EVENING STAR 

THE TEXT OF THIS SERMON 
you will find in God's Book of 
Nature, in the sky chapter, in 
the evening verse, and in the first part of 
the verse. You cannot read it by daylight, 
only in the dark. Sometime after sunset 
this evening, take a look at the text, the even- 
ing star, and see it shining. How lovely, 
how glorious it is! 

Say to it: "O star, why are you so bright? 
Our sun has gone and it is night." And the 
star will say to you, "I am bright because my 
face is toward the sun, and he is shining upon 
me even though you cannot see him." 

To be a star is to be bright because our 
hearts are turned toward some beautiful 
light that is shining upon us though others 

[83] 



THE children's PULPIT 

cannot see it. When you are at school let 
your life shine with a light coming from your 
home, so that every visitor will say: "I 
know that boy has a good home. I can tell 
from his face and manners." Let the girls 
at play be so cheery and lovely that the 
passers-by will see the light of the mother's 
cheery smile and hear the echo of the father's 
hearty laugh. Be so fine-spirited, in the 
darkness which others make by their greed- 
iness and quarreling, that your cheer and 
kindness will glow. Then it will be known 
that upon your heart is shining the blessing 
of parent, teacher, absent friend, and even 
the love of Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness. 



[84] 



LITTLE BURGLARS 

THE LAW SAYS THAT BURGLARS 
are people who break in where 
they have no right, in order to 
steal. Many children are in great fear of 
them, but do not realize that they themselves 
may be little burglars. 

While two persons are talking, a boy 
rushes in and breaks right into their con- 
versation with an interruption to ask some 
question or to tell some news. He wishes 
to steal their attention — the little burglar! 
Occasionally late at night a company of 
boys make a great noise, and break in on 
people's sleep and steal their rest. Some- 
times, in a church service, a group of girls 
begin whispering and giggling, breaking in 
on the solemnity of the service and stealing 

[8s] 



THE children's PULPIT 

away others' enjoyment of it — the little 
burglars! 

When a company of children are having 
a merry time, some one breaks in on the 
happiness with a disagreeable remark and 
robs them of their smiles — the mean little 
burglar! 

But there is one class of burglars that 
boys and girls should fear, for they come 
often, breaking into the mind and steal- 
ing the attention. When you are in school 
or at church, and thoughts of play come into 
your mind, say to yourself, ''The burglars 
are coming." 

Come, boys and girls, let us cease being 
burglars, breaking in with our interruptions 
and stealing from others their attention, 
their quiet, their happiness. And let us 
stop worrying about the burglars who might 
break into our houses and be on our guard 
against those who break into our minds. 

[86] 



LENTEN LENDING 

IN THE WEEKS BEFORE EASTER, 
which are commonly called Lent, and 
are observed in remembrance of the 
fasting and sacrifice of Jesus, many persons 
and societies make special gifts which they 
call Lenten offerings. This is a beautiful 
custom practised also by many of the younger 
people. 

Let me suggest that you boys and girls 
observe Lent in another way — that is, by 
lending. At this season think of some nice 
book, or toy, or doll that you own, which 
somebody would enjoy having for a little 
while, and offer to lend it. When you are 
sliding down hill and see some children 
standing around because they have no sled, 
step up and offer to lend yours for a ride or 

[87] 



THE children's PULPIT 

two. Do the same with your skates if you 
have a chance. 

Best of all is the practise of lending your- 
self. After the next snow-storm, if you are 
not needed at home, go to a neighbor's house 
where there is no man and say, "Do you 
want to borrow a boy for half an hour?" 
Then when you have shoveled the paths, 
accept no money or reward except a "thank 
you," for It is a Lenten Lending of yourself. 
In the same way a girl can lend herself to 
take care of a neighbor's baby, or to run 
errands, or to carry a bundle. 

Keep a lookout all through Lent for a 
chance to lend yourself to your school-teacher, 
to your neighbor, and, best of all, to your 
father and mother for some special use. 
Who is ready to do Lenten Lending of what 
you have and what you are? 



[88] 



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LINCOLN-LIKE 



^^4^'^^^^^^'^'^^4^^^^^'^4^^ 



YOU HAVE OFTEN HEARD A 
boy shout out to another angrily: 
"Get off that sled. It is mine." 
Sometimes a girl says quite sharply of a book 
or pencil: "Leave it alone. That is mine." 
Then frequently one says quite happily and 
proudly of a house or church, "That is 
mine." It is natural and often pleasant to 
claim what is ours. There are times, how- 
ever, when it is not so enjoyable, but when 
we should be prompt to do it. 

An incident in Abraham Lincoln's life 
illustrates this. When fourteen years old 
he attended Crawford's school. Nailed on 
the schoolhouse wall was a buck's head. 
One day the teacher saw that one of the 
horns was broken off and asked who broke 

[89] 



THE children's PULPIT 

it. "I did it," answered young Lincoln, 
promptly. "I did not mean to do it, but 
I hung on it and it broke." Lincoln was 
the type of boy who is ready to say of some 
fault or wrong, "That is mine." 

Often a teacher in school asks who was 
whispering or making a disturbance when 
her back was turned, or she was out of the 
room. If it was done by a Lincoln-like boy 
or girl the answer will come instantly, "I 
did it." When mother wishes to know who 
brought the mud in on to the carpet, or ate 
the fruit, or broke the dish, the Lincoln-like 
son or daughter owns up at once. When- 
ever the question is raised concerning any 
wrong for which you are responsible, "Whose 
fault was this?" answer instantly, "That is 
mine." Do not fail to claim as your own all 
your mischief, all your mistakes, all your 
wrong. It may be hard, but it is Lincoln- 
like. 

[90] 



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SELF-P UNISHMENT 


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LET ME SUGGEST SOMETHING 
that you may never have done, 
and perhaps your parents never tried 
it when they were young. Still I wish you 
to think about it. 

Many things your fathers and mothers 
once did for you, now you do for yourselves. 
They used to feed you, now you feed your- 
selves; they used to dress you, move you 
about, read to you; but now you dress, walk, 
and read to yourselves. In the past your 
parents have punished you in one way or 
another. What do you say to punishing 
yourselves when you have done wrong .^ 

Try it some day. If you have been care- 
less about your work, when dessert is offered 
you at dinner decline it, simply saying, 

[91] 



THE children's PULPIT 

"Thank you, it looks very nice, but I will 
not take any to-day." If you have been 
rude to brother or sister, put a chair in the 
corner and sit in it for fifteen minutes with- 
out saying a word. If you have played with 
your mates unfairly or in a quarrelsome way, 
start for bed half an hour earlier than usual, 
or rise in the morning as much earlier and 
do some special work. Punish yourself. 
Why not? 

It will take from your parents the most 
unpleasant task they have in bringing up 
children; it will do you more good than if 
another inflicted it, because there will be 
no anger or resentment in your heart; and 
it will make you far more thoughtful. You 
will not forget but will remember to give 
up the bad habits and careless ways for which 
you punish yourself. Try it for this week 
and see how well it works. 

[92] 



PALM SUNDAY CLOTHES 

WE CALL THE SUNDAY BE- 
fore Easter Palm Sunday because 
on that day the people took the 
branches from the palm-trees and strewed 
them in the way that Christ might be hon- 
ored as he rode over them. 

But on that day there was something far 
more important than the palms. It took 
only a little work to pull branches off the 
trees by the roadside; it meant far more 
when they threw off their outer robes, their 
very best clothes, and laid them down on 
the muddy road that Christ might ride over 
them in honoring triumph. All these gar- 
ments must have been badly soiled, many 
torn and injured as they were trampled 
upon, and perhaps some were lost. These 

[93] 



THE children's PULPIT 

friends of Christ sacrificed their clothes for 
him. 

There are many people who make such sac- 
rifices to-day. The fathers and mothers of 
some of you who read this give up having as 
fine clothes as some of their friends, in order 
that you may have better clothes, nicer food, 
more privileges and a better education. Some 
Christians give up costly clothes in order that 
they may give more money to the poor and 
sick about them and for missionary work. 
These are the real Palm Sunday Christians. 

You almost always want the daintiest 
dresses, the prettiest ribbons, the most stylish 
shoes, and the best suits of clothes. If ever 
you tell your parents to buy you the less 
costly ones, so that the money saved may be 
spent for father, or mother, or brother or 
sister, or some needy ones, then you may 
think of those cheaper ones as your Palm 
Sunday clothes. 

[94] 



ROLL IT AWAY 

ON EASTER YOU EXPECT TO 
see flowers in the church and hear 
the singing; and these are splendid 
ways of showing our joy that Christ rose 
from the dead. On the first Easter, how- 
ever, there were neither flowers nor singing, 
and if you wish to celebrate the day in the 
same way that it was then, try rolling away 
a stone. 

The very first thing that happened was 
the rolling away of the stone from the mouth 
of the sepulcher where Christ had been 
buried. It kept him from the disciples, and 
kept them from coming to him to take care 
of his body. A true celebration of the day 
would be to roll away whatever keeps you 
from coming to Christ. Are there any bad 

[9S] 



THE children's PULPIT 

habits, any angry feelings, any selfish plans 
that will keep you from having a blessed 
Easter? Then roll them away. 

It is pleasant to remember that Christ 
spent all that day in doing just this for 
others. He rolled away the sorrow from 
Mary's heart, and the doubts and misgivings 
from the minds of the Emmaus disciples, 
and in the evening the fears of his followers. 

Try it, boys and girls. See if on Easter 
you cannot roll away something that is 
troubling mother, or father, or friend. Roll 
away the difficulty of the child that is cry- 
ing, the fear of the timid girl, the disap- 
pointment that is spoiling the day for some 
boy, the discouragement of some Sunday- 
school teacher. What a glorious Easter you 
will make it, if, in addition to the flowers 
and music, you have the joy of being like 
the angel and like Christ in rolling away 
some stone that hinders or hurts. 

[96] 



GETTING BREAKFAST 

MANY PEOPLE FIND IT HARD 
to rise in the morning in time for 
breakfast, and what a shame it is 
to have to say that sometimes boys and girls 
are late to breakfast! The sermon to-day 
is not for these lazy ones, but for those who 
are up early enough to help get the break- 
fast. 

It may be hard for you to do this, but 
there is one beautiful thought about it that 
should make it a pleasant task. Jesus did 
many wonderful things, such as feeding the 
five thousand, which are far beyond our 
ability; but after Easter, when he was the 
risen and triumphant Redeemer, he ren- 
dered one blessed service which you are 
repeating — with his own hands he prepared 

[97] 



THE children's PULPIT 

a breakfast for some hungry people. Very 
early in the morning he gathered some 
sticks of wood on the shore of the Sea of 
Galilee, built a fire, broiled the fish, toasted 
the bread and then called the disciples to 
breakfast. It was the last service he ever 
rendered them in bodily form. 

Let others sleep lazily in the morning, 
if they must; but when you are getting the 
breakfast, do it with a happy heart, for you 
now are doing what Jesus did. Who will 
be up early this week to start the fire and 
help mother get the breakfast? 



[98 



THE SOLDIER EOT 

BROWNING TELLS A LITTLE 
story In one of his poems about 
Napoleon. His soldiers are storm- 
ing Ratlsbon. As he stands on a hill anxiously 
wondering whether his army will succeed, 
a boy, who seems to be wounded, comes 
galloping up, springs from his horse, and 
reports : 

" Well," cried he, " Emperor, by God's grace 

We've got you Ratisbon! 
The Marshal's in the market-place, 

And you'll be there anon 
To see your flag-bird flap his vans 
Where I, to heart's desire, 
Perched him I" 

Napoleon's eye flashed with joy, and then 
had a tender look, as he noticed the boy's 
condition, and said: 

[99] 



THE children's PULPIT 

" You're wounded ! " " Nay," the soldier's pride 
Touched to the quick, he said: 
"I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside, 
Smiling the boy fell dead. 

This soldier boy did not let his suffering 
keep him from doing his errand. How his 
wound hurt him! but he went right on until 
he had finished the task that had been com- 
mitted to him. 

None of you are likely to be given an 
errand or any duty that will result in your 
death; but all of you sometimes will be 
given tasks, and before they are finished 
you will be tired, or lame, or have some 
pain. Some children give up just as soon 
as it begins to hurt, crying out, "Oh! I can- 
not do this. It is too hard. It hurts me." 
The boys and girls who have the spirit of 
this soldier boy will keep on to the end, and 
will finish not with a groan but with a smile, 
even though head or feet ache. 

[lOO] 



THE SNOfFDROP SPIRIT 

UNDER THE GROUND AWOKE 
a little flower and started to push 
its way up through the soil. The 
people on the earth had been passing through 
a long and dreary winter and were longing 
for something fresh and fair. 

Now the snowdrop was a frail little thing 
and it found the ground very hard, for the 
gardener had not softened it by his spring- 
time digging. But it was not discouraged, 
pushing on, though the earth and stones 
hurt. As soon as it reached the air its 
experiences were terrible. Cold, gray clouds 
frowned upon it from the sky; chilling north 
winds blew upon it fiercely; sharp sleet 
struck it again and again. The sun some- 
times warmed it a little, but soon hurried 

[lOl] 



THE children's PULPIT 

away leaving it numbed and in the dark. 
What a cold welcome the world gave it; 
surely it thought it was not wanted, but it 
kept bravely on until its fair, white blossom 
grew and cheered the hearts of many who 
came that way. 

Sometimes you offer a kind service and 
it is received coldly, as when a stranger 
sharply refuses the hymn-book you offer 
him. Then have the snowdrop spirit and, 
instead of being discouraged, keep right on 
offering your hymn-book to a stranger the 
next time you have a chance. If you do 
a good deed and somebody frowns upon you, 
have the snowdrop spirit and do another 
like it. If you speak the truth and suffer 
for it, do not be disheartened, but keep 
bravely on. Do not let others' frowns, or 
criticism, or coldness, or indifference, chill 
you and make you give up; but be like a 
snowdrop on a chilly, dreary, spring day. 
[102] 



TOUR BIRTHD^r 

YOU ALWAYS ENJOY HAVING 
your friends celebrate your birthday 
by giving you presents, arranging a 
party, and making a birthday cake. You 
should not forget, however, to celebrate it 
yourself. It would seem very strange if 
the United States expected France, Ger- 
many, and the other nations to celebrate 
her birthday, the Fourth of July, and made 
no celebration herself. So you must do 
something to celebrate your own birthday 
the next time it comes. 

If your father kisses you on your birth- 
day, he is apt to give you one for each year 
and then he adds a rousing smack, saying, 
"And one to grow on." So if a friend strikes 
you on the back, he does it once for each 
[103] 



THE children's PULPIT 

year and a good big whack, "one to grow 
on." You cannot kiss your own lips, or 
pound your own back, but you can cele- 
brate your birthday by doing and saying 
nice things that will make as many people 
happy as you are years old. When you have 
made one person happy in the morning, say 
quietly to yourself, "one." After another 
person has been cheered, whisper to your- 
self, "two." As soon as you make some one 
smile, think, "three." Then when you have 
brought pleasure on that day to as many as 
you are years old, plan something partic- 
ularly good, "one to grow on," so that you 
may grow the next year, not only tall and 
strong, but also kind and helpful. 



[104] 



JIJN 39 19»0 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Oct. 2005 

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